Changes to a pest's diet could slow the evolution of resistance to biopesticides, according to research from University of Stirling scientists.
It is hoped that the findings could allow the development of biopesticides that are effective for longer, potentially increasing food security, reducing damage to the natural environment and boosting agro-ecological biodiversity.
Researchers discovered that cotton bollworm pests—a species of moth that can cause considerable agricultural damage—show a great deal of genetic variation in how well they survive after being exposed to biopesticide fungi, which are often considered safer alternatives to chemical pesticides.
The study showed that exposure to biopesticide fungi might lead to the evolution of resistance, just as with synthetic pesticides, and builds on previous findings that indicated new approaches are required in managing resistance risks to greener pesticides.
However, alterations to the pest's diet, the crop it eats, had a greater impact on evolution of resistance than switching the type of pesticide used—meaning that the variety of crop grown could impact how quickly pests adapt to biopesticides.
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